Mortals and Fools
by Itsokitsalight
Summary: Light Yagami dies in a tragic accident aged Seven. His grieving Father creates an Artifical Intelligence Robot to revive the memory of his Son. Light grapples with concepts of justice, the Death Note, and the new premise of romance. Slow, eventual Lawlight.
1. Apologies and Goodbyes

Years before the supernatural, god-like powers of Kira threw Japan into confusion, Soichiro Yagami played God.

It had been a terrible tragedy; one that could have been easily avoided, had the driver been more careful, if he and his wife hadn't drunk before driving, or if Light Yagami had his eyes on the road. Or if Soichiro had been holding his son's hand, and hadn't been talking on the phone while crossing the street on the way to the zoo. First, he had been angry, at the injustice of the loss of his only Son. How could the heavens be so unfair, that the two culprits had escaped relatively unscathed while his son lay broken, lifeless and comatose? He was furious, refusing to acknowledge any of the couples' (murderers) piteous attempts at apologies.

Hours melted into days and days melted into weeks, and Soichiro's anger at the world's goddamn inherent unfairness had dissipated into an equally poisonous self-loathing.

Soichiro was ridden with guilt, and despite priding himself on always being level-headed and calm, his mind could only rationalise one thought -- his failure as a father had resulted in his son's death. And in this short, short minute of neglect, the precious life of one of Tokyo's childhood prodigies had been snuffed out irrevocably.

\--Soichiro clasped his wife's trembling hands in his, her tremulous sobs echoing in his ears.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." were the only words that fell continuously from his lips, sounding meaningless and empty even to himself. As the Yagamis grieved, through weeks of routine silent embraces, prayers under imploring breaths beside their son's bedside and tasteless hospital meals, the pieces of their lives eventually started to come together.

One night, as they sat by Light's bedside as per usual, Sachiko suddenly cracked a tender smile, her first since three months after the accident. Soichiro's shock was clear on his face as he watched his wife exhaustedly get up and grab her bag before kissing her son's bandaged forehead.

"You're leaving?" His voice was rough and gravelly, and he winced as they rumbled reluctantly from his throat.

Sachiko's hands were soft and smooth as they turned to meet Soichiro's face. His eyes closed as her soothing hands smoothened out the folds in his forehead, ever-gently and loving.

"No- we're leaving." Her voice was firm, her face exhausted but determined. "Soichiro, I don't blame you. It's - it's time to move on, time hasn't stopped even though it feels our world has ended. We'll come back to visit tomorrow. It's what Light would've wanted." Sachiko's voice was gentle and quiet, bringing an unspeakable warmth bubbling up in Sochiro's chest where he had felt like the gaping hole would never be closed again. "Don't be sorry, thank you for being by my side this whole time, I love you." Soichiro could only bury his head in his wife's shoulder, ignoring the growing wetness on his cheeks, hoping that all his gratitude could be conveyed to her as his voice betrayed him. They'd held hands as they left the hospital to sleep in their own bed after months of sleepless nights on uncomfortable plastic chairs. His sleep was dreamless, for which he'd never been more thankful. As Soichiro awoke the next day watching his wife's face, cocooned in comfortable sheets and an odd sense of hope, he made the decision to dedicate his life towards helping Light Yagami live again.

Before becoming a Father, Soichiro's dream had always been to serve mankind, and his greatest interest had always been in creating intelligent technology. It was unsurprising, then, to everyone, that he would become one of Japan's most outstanding Artificial Intelligence Scientists. Soichiro had an impeccable understanding of the human mind and an innate talent for creating machines with uncanny human-like traits, and he planned to channel these talents into his new goal.

In theory, it had seemed impossible. Yet, two years passed, and Soichiro simply watched in amazement as he questioned his newly-created Artificial Conversational Entity programme.

Despite having the innocence and eagerness of a five year old, the robot's vocabulary and maturity in addition to its quick ability to gauge his emotions was way beyond that of a young child — I.e., it was responding exactly the way only Light Yagami could.

"Son, do you think the polar bears can be saved?""Dad... theoretically, we could transport all the bears to zoos, or research more on reproductive techniques, or send them food directly. But obviously, that's ridiculous."Soichiro could hear the petulance and slight air of superiority in the programme's voice.

He had to force down a smile as he replied, "Why, Son?"

The sigh from the computer screen almost made him burst out into a guffaw.

"The real issue here isn't simply saving the polar bears. There are some huge systematic issues that will take years to fix, such as political apathy, cultures and a lack of concern for the environment in most of the world. And by the time these things are solved, judging from current trends, the polar bears will be dead."

Yep, that was undeniably Light's character. While other seven-year-olds might've been ooing and aahing over adorable white fluffy bears, Light Yagami had no such personal attachments — he had seen them as symbols of the world's incapabilities. Light had always found his father's simplistic questions ridiculous, and didn't make attempts to hide his views, which Soichiro found hilarious.

"Dad! I went a little overboard with the ranting earlier, do you perhaps want to visit the polar bears at the zoo this weekend before they all disappear?" The computer suddenly added quickly, after a few moments of quiet.

Soichiro nearly gasped, it was just like Light as well to apologise indirectly for his rudeness (which Soichiro really didn't mind and was also aware that Light didn't really feel sorry about) and remind his father of their weekly Father-Son outing to get Soichiro away from his constant work.

Perhaps it didn't seem that unimaginable; after all, Light Yagami's speed of learning and adaptability to situations, both emotionally and academically, had been seen as robot-like to most of his Teachers.

Light Yagami's thirst for knowledge, speed for learning and calmness in every situation had been shockingly simple to recreate.

It only took a year more before Soichiro was able to create a couple of robot suits in complete likeness of Light Yagami and merge the two, in effect reviving his Son.

Tears filled his eyes as the robot - no - Light Yagami opened his eyes slowly, auburn eyes gazing deeply into Soichiro's.

"Dad?""Yes, Son?""We're still going to the zoo today right?"

Soichiro glanced at his watch. It was a Saturday several years too late, and a smile several years delayed flickered across his face briefly.

"Yes, let's leave now." He held his son's hand tightly the whole way, and Light never let go.


	2. Welcome Home

Soichiro continued to spend most of his waking hours with Light in the lab, all of which were some of the most enjoyable experiences he had.

As he silently observed Light working at a computer puzzle, brows furrowed deep in thought, his chest swelled with bliss and pride. Although he could hardly claim to be the source of Light's boyish good looks, his son's hard work and passion for solving the unknown was a reflection of his fathers. Yet, as a faint smile crept over his face, the lingering guilt of hiding Light - and the joy he had derived from Light's company - from his wife quickly dampened his good spirits.

"Dad?"

Shocked out of his remorse-induced stupor, Soichiro looked up at his son questioningly.

"I'm aware… that I am not human, and that I am not exactly Light Yagami, although I am a perfect replica of him."

Light's brown eyes were searching, sorrowful almost, as Soichiro stared back in shock.

"Although I have Light's memories and I'm certain that you treat me exactly the same way as you would a son of your own flesh and blood, there's really no need to hide this fact from me. I've never brought this up and I'm aware you're uncomfortable with it, but I want to be truthful with you about this. I'm perfectly happy living Light Yagami's life the way he would have."

Closing his slightly agape mouth, Soichiro reached for Light, hugging him tightly to his chest.

"Raito, I — when did you find out?"

"Dad, I've always known. Surely, as the creator of my programme, you should know that I'm able to make basic observations and inferences from what's around me, for example, that I live in a lab? As a loving father, I'm sure you wouldn't keep your son at home away from his mother for no good reason."

Light's smile was teasing and playful, as his small arms reached around his fathers' back and tightened soothingly.

"I'm sorry…"

"Don't be, Dad. I love you."

Light snuggled further into his nook of his father's neck, closing his eyes and pretending not to feel the wetness of his shirt from Soichiro's warm tears.

They stayed that way for a long moment, the afternoon sun rays filtering into the room evenly, ebbing and flowing through the shifting curtains.

"I'm going to call your mother now, and bring you home."

"If Mum will accept me?" Light's smile was wistful, a faint curve of the lips that spoke of hundreds of longing memories.

Soichiro quashed all feelings of uncertainty as Light gave his hand an encouraging squeeze, and dialled his wife's number.

"Soichiro? Is anything the matter?"

"Sachiko, I've something to confess."

The line was quiet for a full minute, the air charged with tension as both parties held their breaths, hundreds of possibilities running through their minds.

"Where are you? Are you safe? Please don't do anything drastic, I can get there any time —""I'm fine, Sachiko."

"You… sounded teary? What's the matter, did you watch a sad movie at work?" Sachiko playfully teased, bringing a law chuckle from Soichiro. He'd been crying too much lately, way too much for a grown man who'd barely shed a tear once he'd left kindergarten.

A gentle nudge from Light reminded him of his gargantuan task.

"I... I... Light, uh... Light's with me."

Light buried his face in his hands, shaking his head.

There was a sharp intake of breath from the phone. Light's memory was a painful wound that both Husband and wife harboured but never mentioned.

"Soichiro, are you alright? You're at the Hospital?"

"I... made an AI, with Light's mind and memories. He... I... you'd love him."

The silence this time was so long that Soichiro feared that his Wife had hung up or fainted from the shock of his words. ..."Sachiko?"

"Soichiro, I don't know about this... Is this really a healthy way to cope? I... can't we just let him go in peace?"

"He - I love him, Sachiko. He's my Son. I could never let him go."

The line was quiet again, and Soichiro imagined his Wife massaging her forehead and pacing around with worry.

"Okay, bring him home. I'll get dinner ready."

"Thank you." The line went off, and Soichiro beamed, pulling Light into an embrace.

"We're going home, Son. We're going home."

A hopeful grin burst out on Light's usually impassive face, and it made all the challenges Soichiro had faced and had to face seem completely worth it.

They started a walk back to their home, and Soichiro noticed that Light knew the way even without any directions. He felt regretful for a moment for depriving both mother and Son of the happiness he'd been revelling in privately, but pushed it aside.

In a few minutes, they'd be home. And home would be complete, for the first time in years.

The air was charged with anticipation and nervousness as Soichiro rang the doorbell.

Three rings, and the door opened.

"Mum!"

Surprisingly, Light responded first, rushing forward to hug his Mother. Sachiko moved instinctively, crouching downward to fully hold Light to her chest, face tilting down to nestle in his soft crown of hair. Both Mother and Son held each other for a Long time, deeply breathing, waves of nostalgia crashing against them despite the newness of the whole situation.

They had no shared blood, but shared memories were more than sufficient to reconnect their broken bonds.

"Thank you, Soichiro." Were all the words that Sachiko could choke out, as she tenderly held Light's hand and led him into the house.

Soichiro followed the Mother-Son pair, contentment settling gently like a quilted cloud. What a foreign feeling, and what a relief it was.


End file.
